Road accident investigators were today probing a devastating road crash which left a woman dead and an 18-month-old girl critically injured.

Two other adults and two toddlers riding in the same car as the dead 56-year-old were left seriously injured following the collision in Warnham, West Sussex, on Easter Sunday.

Sussex Police said six crash victims were members of the same family from the Pimlico area of London.

A force spokesman said: "A Honda Accord was in collision with a Volkswagen Golf on the A24, near to the junction with Station Road, at around 11.30am.

"The woman, aged 56, from the Queen's Park area of London, who was a passenger in the Honda, was sadly declared dead at the scene by an air ambulance doctor.

"The girl was taken to St George's Hospital, Tooting, along with the 34-year-old driver of the car, a 26-year-old woman, and two other girls aged three and one, all of whom were seriously injured.

"All were from the same family from the Pimlico area of London."

The driver of the VW Golf, a 60-year-old man from Epsom, was taken to hospital with serious chest injuries, police said

His 58-year-old female passenger, also from Epsom, was treated for whiplash injuries.

The A24 was closed for around five hours while rescue and recovery work took place, the police spokesman said.

Sergeant Paul Skinner from the Sussex Police Road Policing Unit, said: "This is a desperately tragic incident that has left a toddler fighting for her life.

"A full investigation is now under way and I would ask that anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have seen either of the cars in the area in the time leading up to the crash, to please call Sussex Police."